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Clutch plate brand recommendations?

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Guest

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Hello all. I actually have a couple of questions about the clutch on my '81 GS850G. It is making a sort of "chattering" noise that is really only noticeable when the engine is running, but you're not moving. If you put your finger on the release arm, you can feel it in sync with the noise. My mechanic says it's one of two bearings starting to go, so my plan is to have him just rebuild the entire clutch. So here are my questions:

1) does anyone have a favorite aftermarket brand of friction plates, or would I just be better off sticking with genuine Suzuki parts? Is there an aftermarket brand that I should avoid?
2) is there any such thing as a rebuilt clutch, and if there is, are they any good?

I ride pretty conservatively, and having "monster" parts or specialized racing parts would never be appreciated by me. Any thoughts/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
 
The bearings on the clutch hub are pretty massive and almost never fail. More likely the springs in the back side of the clutch hub are loose and rattling. You can mod the hub by removing the backplate and shimming the springs, then welding the back plate back in place. The bigger GS's have aftermarket heavy duty clutch backplate and spring kits but I don't think they make such for the 850.

Oh, and the clutch plates almost never wear out on the 850. Dollars to donuts if you remove them you will find them still with plenty of thickness. If you get a wild hair and want to change them anyway, OEM Suzuki parts are best available. That said, EBC clutch friction plates are plenty serviceable if you can find a set for a cheap price. And always use OEM springs, not heavy duty aftermarket springs which require a kung foo grip.
 
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Thanks for the responses guys.

So the bike has been sitting for quite a while (but since I just bought it a couple of months ago, I don't really know for how long). My mechanic finally got it running yesterday after a comprehensive carb rebuild (it runs great now!). He recommends that I go ahead and ride the bike a bit and see if the clutch noise resolves itself. I looked at him with seriously doubting eyes, but having already sunk a bunch of money into this bike, it would be nice to avoid the additional expense of a clutch rebuild. Any thoughts?
 
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